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“It’s not my job to worry about speculation,” USC football coach Clay Helton said. “It’s not my job to worry about what’s said. It’s my job to be able to raise kids and help them win games. That’s all I’m focused on. Everything else will play out the way it is.” (AP Photo/Timothy J. Gonzalez, File)

LOS ANGELES — As USC began preparations for its regular-season finale against Notre Dame, it was business as usual, Clay Helton said.

Staff meetings went on as scheduled Sunday. Coaches reviewed players’ injuries. Practices were to begin Monday.

But outside the walls of USC’s McKay Center and its nearby practice fields, speculation grew about the job status of Helton, the embattled third-year coach who has borne the brunt of the criticism for a trying season.

With four losses in five games, including a 34-27 beating by crosstown rival UCLA, the Trojans are 5-6 overall and remain in jeopardy of finishing a season with a losing record for the first time since 2000.

The loss to the Bruins did little to calm the mood among fans on message boards or the chatter on sports talk radio in recent days, as the Trojans prepare to face the Fighting Irish in the 90th edition of the intersectional rivalry on Saturday at the Coliseum.

Last week, five days before the Trojans faced UCLA, Helton sought to squash some of the uncertainty by telling players at a team meeting that he would return next season.

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Helton will aim to proceed as normal as possible in an effort to upset third-ranked Notre Dame, a victory that could spoil the Fighting Irish’s chances of reaching the College Football Playoff and allow the Trojans to become bowl eligible. They have qualified for a bowl game in every non-sanction year since 2000.

“Nothing changes for us,” Helton said of this week’s preparation. “That’s the way we’ll always be here. We give it the most energy and the most focus we can on the opponent at hand, no matter if we’re doing really well as a team or if you’re siting here at 5-6. We’re going to give the utmost effort to go try to win the next game.”

College football’s coaching carousel typically heats up in late November, in part fueling the speculation about Helton’s job security.

On Sunday, Colorado fired its head coach, Mike MacIntyre, only two years after he led the Buffaloes to the Pac-12 championship game and after a 5-0 start to this season. They had since lost six straight games, including a 30-7 loss to Utah on Saturday.

“It’s not my job to worry about speculation,” Helton said. “It’s not my job to worry about what’s said. It’s my job to be able to raise kids and help them win games. That’s all I’m focused on. Everything else will play out the way it is.”

Earlier this season, Helton seemed more likely to return as the Trojans’ coach. In the offseason, he had signed a contract extension through 2023, bolstered by 21 wins in his first two full seasons, and had been backed publicly by USC athletic director Lynn Swann at the end of October despite a 4-4 record at the time.

While Helton has indicated he will return in 2019, Swann has not spoken publicly about his status in nearly a month, allowing some of the uncertainty to remain.

The last USC coach to finish a season with a losing record was Paul Hackett in 2000, prompting his firing.

Helton, speaking with reporters during his weekly teleconference on Sunday, iterated he felt secure and took no issue with Swann’s silence.

In Swann’s most recent public comments in late October, he defended Helton’s performance, giving a vote of confidence, but he also stopped short of guaranteeing that the coach would return after this season.

Helton suggested he needed no public guarantee.

“He’ll address it when he feels the appropriate time is,” Helton said. “All I can say is I’ve been given every ounce of support that is needed by Mr. Swann to be able to do my job and I feel comfortable in his support of me, not only now but in the future. When he’s ready to make a comment, I know he will. It’s his right to do it whenever he feels free. But he’s given me the utmost support. My priority is to our football team and helping our seniors get a huge win in their last game in the Coliseum. That will be my only focus this week.”

Whether he sits on the hot seat or not, the unbeaten Fighting Irish loom large.

Last season, the Trojans were overwhelmed in South Bend, Ind., suffering a 49-14 loss.

Joey Kaufman is the USC beat writer for the Southern California News Group. Since joining the Orange County Register in 2015, he has also covered Major League Baseball and UCLA athletics. His work has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors and Football Writers Association of America. Kaufman grew up in beautiful downtown Burbank.